


Knights and Magic Kalluzeb

by 7Fanfer7



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, Shyness, Swords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28491048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7Fanfer7/pseuds/7Fanfer7
Summary: Honorable ones but with knights and armor and leather and all that good stuff.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus & Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Knights and Magic Kalluzeb

Alexsandr pushed through the underbrush of the muggy forest with determination. Insects buzzed aimlessly and the dim light shown through the tall vine covered trees. Swiped his worn gauntlet through the thin bushes and pressed on, determined to finally hunt down his quarry. With his hand on the hilt on his sword he made his way through the bramble, thorny vines ineffective against his hard splint mail armor. He stumbled through the wall of vines and found himself in a small clearing. Plant matter littered the floor and gave way as he stepped, slowing him as he made his approach. The only movement in the clearing was the bipedal creature he hunted, scrambling frantically through a leather pack he knelt over. The contents were flung about and the creature was seemingly unaware of his approach. Before he could make his move, the creature suddenly became aware someone was approaching, and whirled around to face him, snarling. It was exactly who Alexsandr thought it was, the rebel beastman, Garazeb Orellios. 

“You!” He looked frantic, but angry. “Followed me all the way here? You never seem to let up, do you?” 

“Hah,” Alexsander scoffed “Never. I’ve got you where I want you, beast. Now, let’s make this quick.” He drew his sword and pointed it at his rival.

Garazeb’s wild green eyes widened at the blade pointing at him. They narrowed as kallus took a slow step towards his crouching form. Alexsandr’s boot got snagged as he took a step and Garazeb saw his opening. Already crouching and poised, he lunged at his foe. 

Alexsandr had a split second to react, and failed. Garazeb slammed into him at full force and effortlessly carried his armored body through the air. The wind was knocked from his lungs as his back slammed into one of the towering trees of the forest and he fell among the large protruding roots. His sword was knocked from his grip and he managed to come to his senses in time to deflect a punch Garazeb threw at him. Their scuffling lasted only seconds before a loud echoing crack sounded beneath them. Their eyes grew wide and combat momentarily abated as the soft ground shifted beneath them. The movement stopped and light debris swirled around in the air between them. Before anyone could throw another punch there was another woody groan, and the sound of something clearly snapping. 

They both yelped as they fell through the air. With the aid of his dextrous feet, Garazeb managed to cling to a root for a moment before slipping into the cavern below. Alexander had no such luck and his momentum was only slowed slightly by a snagging loop of root before he landed roughly in an awkward pile on the cold earthen ground. They were both dazed and the sickening crack and cry that Alexsander let out as he hit the ground was the only thing Garazeb remembered as he was briefly knocked unconscious. 

  
  


As they came to, Alexsandr was briefly aware that he was somehow still alive, and his leg was radiating intense and burning pain. He spotted his sword lying a meter away, glinting in the low light, and as he reached over to retrieve it, Garazeb’s foot appeared on the ground next to it. He looked up and saw the scowling beastman looking down at him, with his own curved sword drawn.

“Looks like the things didn’t go as you planned, knight. Luckily I don’t want to finish you like this, and I'd rather we pick up when you’re a little less-” He thought for a moment, hand on his chin “a little less broken.” He concluded, smirking at the man on ground 

Alexsander looked up at him with disdain. The rebel beastman wore his usual tight fitting leather armor of various tans and green shades. He smirked and his bright green eyes shown in the low light. His fuzzy ears flicked as he grinned at the man who was clearly at his mercy. He squatted down so they were at eye level. 

He grunted. “C’mon. Your leg is hurt. Let me take a look at it.” 

“My uh-” He stammered “I-uh-uh. Wait, what?” He looked confused.

“Your leg. You hurt it, didn’t you?” 

“You’re not going to kill me?” Alexsandr asked, calming down. 

Garazeb glared at him, eye to eye “ No. I don’t do things like your awful empire does. Now lemme see that leg.” 

“Alright.” Alexsandr struggled to pull his body forward and propped his leg out with a wince. He watched as Garazeb unstrapped the armor on his legs and cast it aside. He inspected the broken leg for a minute before he reached for a sturdy stick and bandage from the back that had fallen with them and began to split the leg in place. All the while Alexsandr watched him move intently. Out of anyone to help him, he never would have thought that this beastman from the kingdom of Lasan would volunteer. Garazeb had every right to want him dead, since he had been the commanding officer for the imperial troops that brutally ransacked the small kingdom of Lasan. The occupation had been unexpectedly brutal, and Alexsandr couldn’t believe the orders of the higher ups, but he had followed them anyway and allowed the devastation to take place. 

Garazeb was displaced now, a rebel who found a home with the shattered remnants of the kingdoms hiding from the empire. He had more reason to hate Alexsandr than anyone, but for some reason, he was here helping him. An unsettling feeling crept up on Alexsandr as he sat there. He’d never felt anything for the man with him other than a burning spite and drive to apprehend him. Now as he watched Garazeb bandage his leg filled him without something else; something akin to shame, or guilt, he didn’t know which.

“You shouldn’t have that, you know,” Garazeb blurted out.

“What? Alexsandr asked, puzzled. 

“Your sword.” Garazeb gestured to the slightly curved blade discarded by his feet. “You shouldn’t have it, a Lasani blade, it’s not a trophy. 

“I didn’t take it as a trophy,” Alexsandr admitted quietly “It was given to me.” 

“Given to you?” Garazeb growled. 

“In Lasan, during the siege of the capital. I defeated one of the royal guards in combat. He gave me his blade,” He said flatly.

Garazeb whispered something incoherent and Alexsandr gave him a puzzled look. “The what?”   
  


“The  _ boosahn keeraw _ ” Garazeb grumbled and looked up at him. “It’s the warrior code of the knights of Lasan. When defeated in honorable combat, you submit your weapon to the knight you fell to.” 

Alexsandr looked away. “I didn’t know.” 

“It’s fine, It’s still not a trophy, though.” 

“I never thought it was.” Alexsandr looked into the bright green eyes apprehensive, trying to convey whatever honesty he could for the situation. 

The feeling of guilt passed as Garazeb announced he was done and stood up above him. He offered Alexsandr a hand and for a moment he was reluctant to take it. As he was pulled to his feet their eyes briefly met and Alexsander saw an inquisitive kindness looking back at him. He looked away, the surge of guilt hitting him again. He stumbled as he tried to steady himself and Garazeb caught his shoulders to balance him, embarrassment adding to the guilt.

  
  


“There ya go. Now let’s find a good spot for a fire.”

“Right,” Alexsandr muttered, and hobbled after him. 

They found a suitable corner of the cavern for a small fire and Garazeb’s pack had supplied them with a flint and tinder to light it. Curiously enough, although the cavern was underground, there seemed to be large portions of fallen trees and small bits of other plants littering the floor. Light cascaded through shallow holes around tree roots in the ceiling of the cavern, and he suspected that if stepped on they would give way similar to the one they had fallen through. It was blissfully erie, and for a moment, Alexsander was caught up in the scenery, forgetting the conflict, who he was with, and who he was. 

Garazeb reclined with his hands behind his head, purple face illuminated in the glow of the fire. Alexsandr sat and rubbed his aching leg. The silence passed for a while before Alexsandr gave an awkward attempt at small talk. 

“I can’t wait to get out of this pit.” He glanced up at one of the clear beams of light from above and earned a raised eyebrow from his acquaintance who glanced to where he was looking. 

“You sure are in a hurry to get back to your precious empire.” Garazeb said. 

Alexsandr bristled. “Of course I am. We’re in some God forsaken cavern and I have a broken leg. Not to mention I have a long list of duties to attend to.” 

“Like what? Burning more villages?” Garazeb retorted. 

“We do not burn villages. The Empire keeps the peace.”

Alexsandr earned a glare from Garazeb. “Yeah real peaceful, you guys. Silencing any kingdom that dares defy your rule.” 

“We don't silence anyone. We keep the order, to keep things civilized” 

“Keep the order?” Garazeb snorted. “Is that what you tell yourself?” 

“It’s true! Under the Empire, it’s better for everyone.”

“No, not for everyone. Maybe if you opened your eyes a bit you’d see that.” Garazeb had sat up now, and was glaring at him intently. 

Alexsandr was at a loss. He knew exactly what Garazeb was talking about. Under the guise of doing the right thing for the empire, he did have his hesitations about how the siege of Lasan was handled. He couldn’t bring himself to object again; he knew in this particular case, Garazeb was right. He couldn’t bring himself to insult the man that had patched up his leg. As much as he’d antagonized Garazeb in the past, he couldn’t bring himself to do it now. 

“I’m sorry,” He almost whispered. 

Garazeb gave him a confused scowl. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” He said a bit louder, “I was just following orders. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. I know I said I was proud of it in the past, but I always thought that it wasn’t how things should be handled, so I’m sorry.” 

Garazeb’s eyes widened in surprise and he continued to glare. After a second he gritted his teeth and turned away with a “Hmph” and rolled over with a grumble.

Alexsandr fumbled his gauntlets together awkwardly. He never thought he’d apologize so personally. He never thought he’d ever want to, much less feel the need to or be given a chance. He looked over at Garazeb’s back and for the first time in recent memory, he wished things were different. Part of him knew what the Empire had done was wrong, but he always justified it as best he could. Until now he’d never felt remorse for his actions in service of the Empire, but now, looking at the curled up lasat, guilt pulled at him strongly. He never had the inherent hatred for the beastfolk that the empire promoted, and he found he was drawn to the glossy purple fur on the shoulder that was illuminated by the beams of light from above. Previously he never got the chance to inspect Garazeb up close, but here in this cavern, away from the Empire and only the two of him, he got ample opportunity to see the soft texture of his fur and the glowing green of his wide eyes. He realized that he found them quite aesthetically striking and a pang of guilt hit him again as he realized what he’d helped do to the rest of the lasat people.

Garazeb’s ears perked up and he sat up abruptly as a low hiss permeated the cavern. Alexsandr was startled by the noise and fear gripped him as he heard something approaching. Garazeb lept up and snatched his curved Lasani blade as something large and reptilian approached. Alexsandr saw it come into view and fear gripped his chest as he realized what it was. Large grey-green scales and bright yellow eyes reflected the light as the large reptile lumbered into view. It stood several feet taller than Garazeb and had steely sharp claws and a large protruding horn on the center of his snout. The reddish frilles that graced its head and large horn meant they’d stumbled upon one of the more terrifying creatures of the realm, a basilisk.

The towering reptile’s tongue flipped from it’s mouth as it approached Garazeb. It took a hesitant swipe which he dodged nimbly, it’s attention fixed on the purple lasat. It missed with a few more aggressive claws and zeb got a few small slashes in with his curved blade, marring the creature's hide. He was transfixed by the battle and realized Garazeb had been back into a corner. He panicked and realized that unless he intervened, the creature was likely to slay Garazeb. 

He stumbled to his feat and picked up the remaining blade and a small stone laying next to it. Right as the creature reared up to assault Garazeb he hurled the stone and it impacted with a rough thud against the creature's head. He saw the look of terror in Garazeb’s eyes as he saw the raised claw in front of him. His eyes followed the creature’s as it swiveled it’s head to search for who was responsible for the stone. His eyes met Alexsandr’s for just a moment and there was a look of relief as the basilisk lumbered away from him. He gritted his teeth as he watched it crawl after Alexsandr, realizing the man was a sorry match for the creature with his broken leg. Alexsandr lept behind a large boulder as it attempted to maul him and Garazeb was following closely. As the reptile tried to twist around the large rock, Garazeb got several deft slashes off and finished with a quick stab in the creature’s side. It hissed in agony and gave up its assault with it’s claws and stumbled backwards. It assessed the situation briefly with its yellow reptilian eyes and instead of lunging forward to attack it spun backwards and lumbered off in the distance, hissing in annoyance.

Garazeb approached the other man on the ground and offered a soft purple hand to help him, once again. Alexsandr took it happily and stumbled to his feet. Garazeb gave him a soft smile. 

“Where did you find this thing?” He asked, producing an object from his hand. 

Alexsandr looked puzzled and saw a small geode with bright clear crystals sitting in the purple paw.

“What do you mean?” He stared at the geode, puzzled. 

“This stone you threw at the basilisk.” He shifted it around in his paw and Alexsandr saw a faint blue light emanating from deep within the geode. It was breathtakingly beautiful. 

“It just looked like a normal stone when I grabbed it,” He admitted. He reached out and timidly turned it in Garazeb’s paw to reveal the other side indeed looked like a normal stone. 

“Huh.” Garazeb looked impressed. “I wonder how it’s glowing.” He turned it over to the crystal side again to reveal the illuminated clear blue crystals. “It’s beautiful.” 

“It is,” Alexsandr confirmed and gazed at the stone before looking up to Garazeb. Their eyes met and his soft smile deepend. He found it extraordinarily easy to forget about everything outside the cavern and the tension between them.

The moment broke and Garazeb pocketed the glowing stone in his tunic.

“We should find a way to get out of here.” He suggested. 

“Indeed. Before that thing comes back, and brings it friends.” 

“Hm. Some of these stones are piled up close to these holes, I bet we could climb up.” 

Alexsandr’s leg twitched and he stared at the ceiling blankly. “Maybe you could.” He retorted. 

“What?” Garazeb laughed. “I’m not going to leave you. We can make it up there. Even if I have to carry you.” 

“You-you don’t have to do that,” He mumbled, looking down at the ground again. 

“What?” Garazeb laughed heartily. “Well i’m not going to leave you, so tough luck. C’mon” 

He followed him over to the pile of boulders and watched as Garazeb hopped from one to another, slipping slightly. He made a bit of progress and sat on one of the study boulders to assess the situation. He flopped down and looked at Alexsandr playfully.

“It’s not so bad. They’re all pretty sturdy. We’ll be able to get out of here in no time.” He lept down several stones and landed in front of Alexsandr. Who stared at him blankly. “I don’t know if i’ll be able to lift you with all that armor on, though.” 

“Lift me?” He questioned hesitantly. 

“Well you won’t be able to get around with that leg. That armor isn’t exactly light, either.” 

“Oh.” Alexsandr flushed with embarrassment, realizing the lasat intended to carry him up the stones.

Garazeb walked past him and retrieved the pack and walked to Alexandr and placed his hand out insistently. “The sword.” He demanded. 

In not much of a position to argue he offered the blade and watched Garazeb as he bounced up several steps and tossed the close pack and blade through the large opening between the tree roots. He gasped in surprise as he watched them disappear through the bright hole. Garazeb appeared in front of him once more and frowned at him. 

“What’s the hold up?” He asked impatiently. 

“Oh.” Alexsandr said softly. “Sorry.” He began to unfasten his gauntlets. 

He worked slowly and wobbly on the rest of his armor and slowly the metal and leather split mail on his chest and shoulders clattered to the ground. He struggled to remove the armor and almost fell over. Garazeb caught him abruptly and steadied him once again. Alexsandr hadn’t felt this helpless in a long time and having his long time rival caring for him amplified the feeling and burning sensation in his cheeks.

It didn’t help when Garazeb gave a gruff “Here” and knelt down in front of him and began to fiddle with the straps on his leg armor. Alexsandr embarrassment threatened to overwhelm him. With Garazeb in such a compromising and intimate position, combined with the close and personal act of removing his armor for him, his mind panicked. 

“Wait Zeb, Stop!” He blurted out. 

The tugging on his legs stopped abruptly.

“What did you just call me?” The voice below him asked in disbelief. 

There was silence for a moment as he heard Alexsandr take a labored breath above him. He looked up and their eyes met. Within Alexsandr’s eyes he saw a different type of fear than what he was used to, different from the fear of cold steel or of a hungry monster, something more subdued, more embarrassed. He avoided his gaze yet again, and spoke slowly. 

“Zeb, short for Garazeb.” He muttered. “It was in a report in the Imperial library.” 

“I didn’t realize you knew my name.” Zeb whispered. 

“You can call me Alex, if you want.” He offered to Zeb, attempting to lessen the awkwardness. Their eyes met again.

Zeb chuckled. “Sure.” and he began to tug on the leather straps on Alex’s thighs again and before the man could object he said harshly “Now stop being weird and let me get these off you.”

Alex didn’t complain this time and tried to smother his embarrassment, it being a little easier now that they’d properly introduced themselves. As Zeb fiddled with the last strap a low hiss carried from the end of the tunnel and they both shivered with fear. Monstrous footsteps began to echo.

“Damn! We have to hurry.” Zeb yanked the last piece of leg armor off and stood up to face Alex again. Zeb turned around and knelt down and motioned for Alex to climb on. With only a brief hesitation as more hissing rang out from the caven, this time louder, he wrapped his arms around Zeb’s neck snugly and was lifted from his feet. 

Zeb scrambled up several of the large stones and Alex turned his head, watching the source of the viscous hissing come into view. This time there were two of them and they crawled to the edge of the rocks, hissing and the red leathery frills around their necks flashing intently. 

“Zeb! There’s two this time!” Alex hissed into Zeb’s ear. Zeb scrambled up another boulder before stopping momentarily. 

“Here.” He unstrapped his sword with a clawed hand and handed it to the man on his back. “Don’t drop it!” 

“Noted.” Alex gripped the curved sword and as one of the hissing monster’s crawled close he gave it a quick slash across its jaw, causing it to momentarily retreat with a hiss. 

As they reached the top of the tower of awkward stones he set Alex down and assessed the situation and the basilisks who were attempting to chase after them, struggling with the awkward mess of rocks and their cumbersome size. The rocks at the top of the pile were messy and unstable and the massive creatures' weight were tossing smaller stones everywhere. A large sharp claw reached up and aimed for Alex. He readied his sword, but before he could strike the creature, the rock he was poised upon wiggled free of the pile and began to slide. Before he could fall into the grasp of the waiting monster, Zeb’s purple paw saved him yet again, and pulled him closer to more stable ground. 

“Gotcha,” He whispered to Alex protectively, and gave his shoulder a small squeeze while the man found his footing. 

After, Zeb immediately got to work and began punching through the vines covering the opening to the surface. Light opened into the cavern and the basilisks were temporarily dazed. Alex stood by Zeb’s side and glared at the monsters, raising his sword again. Before he could act, Alex’s eyes widened as Zeb snatched him up in his arms again and he realized he meant to throw him.

“Kriff!” He yelled as Zeb haphazardly threw him out of the opening in the ceiling, and he landed with a rough  _ thud  _ on the grassy clearing. He scrambled to his feet with his sword, ignoring the intense pain in his leg as he stood upright. Zeb was still stuck in the cavern with the two monsters, and after all he’d done for him, his honor as a knight compelled him to all he could to save him. 

He rushed to the opening just in time to see Zeb clinging to a hanging root, the gaping jaws of a basilisk snapping below him. Zeb pulled himself to the edge of the opening and yelped in surprise as he saw Alex, sword raised, and ready to strike. 

For a moment he couldn’t comprehend the betrayal. After all he’d done, the man was still set to kill him.

“Karabast!” He swore, and Alex lunged. 

The blade swung past and cleaved the edges of the frills on the basilisk’s face clean off, it’s teeth inches from Zeb’s foot. Before it’s mouth could close around Zeb’s leg it hissed in agony, blood dripping from its disfigured face, and retreated to the darkness of the cave. 

This time it was Alex’s turn to offer a hand, and Zeb took it gladly, pulling himself onto the grass of the clearing.

“We made it,” Alex said, dumbfounded while Zeb caught his breath in the grass 

“Knew we could,” Zeb Wheezed. “Just had to work together.” 

Pride swelled in Alex as he realized that’s exactly what they had done. Despite all odds they had survived climbing out of a cave with two basilisks, one of the realms most deadly creatures, and lived to tell the tale. His leg twinged and reminded him it was not without injury, but the satisfaction he felt at being safe on the surface once more, helped lessen the pain. So much had happened, and the events of the cave made it feel as if far more time had passed since they had fallen through this same clearing. The feeling of malice that drove him had evaporated, and he looked at his panting companion with a new sense of wonder, and intrigue. 

Zeb stepped to his feet. And looked Alex up and down before giving him a quick satisfied smile. 

“Well, should we find a place to camp for the night? Preferably away from all these holes.” He gathered the pack and his sword off the ground and threw the pack over his shoulder with ease. 

Alex froze for a moment, contemplating what his answer was supposed to be. When they had fallen into the cavern he imagined if they both made it out alive they’d resume their deadly battle, but as of now, Alex couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do less than kill the grinning beastman in front of him. 

“Sounds good.” He offered a shy smile back and followed Zeb into the forest and away from the grassy clearing riddled with holes. 

  
  


Zeb stretched out in front of the fire again, this time, intent on relaxing, and his eyes were soft and relaxed as he gazed at the crackling flames while leaning against a log. His companion, Alex sat closer to him this time, and instead of across the fire he leaned on the log next to him. The man looked much different without his armor and without his helmet, and although Zeb could tell the man was in impeccable shape, the soft cloth he wore without his armor made him look much more approachable; much less imperial. After the sacking of Lasan, Zeb has spent years tempering his resistance to abject hatred, and although he should have more of a reason to hate the man next to him than anyone, it didn’t fill him with the rage that used to consume him on a daily basis. His training in forgiveness still left him conflicted, however. He wished he could reach out to the man, and encourage him to look at the Empire with the critical eye he seemed to look at everything else with. 

Zeb compulsively reached into his pocket and pulled out the glowing geode and turned it over in his hands. The clear crystals glowed with a light blue hue and became lost in the scintillating shine of the stone. The light caught Alex’s eye and he leaned over to look at the mesmerizing crystal.

“It looks amazing.” he admired the stone “and it casts light.”

“Yeah.” Zeb mumbled, transfixed with the light.

“What will you do with it?” Alex asked. 

“Not sure. It’s nice though.” Zebs eyes moved from the stone to his companion, and a smug grin crept over his face. “Not as intent on capturing me for your Empire as you were before, huh?” 

Zeb watched as Alex stiffened at his comment. The man looked at him and scowled, thinking for a moment. 

I don’t think so,” He admitted. 

“Good,” Zeb huffed, satisfied. “You could come with us, you know.” 

Alex didn’t scoff, but his lips snapped in frustration before he spoke. “I can’t.” 

“And why not?” 

“I think,” Alex hesitated, strumming his hands together and looking between Zeb and the fire, “That I should open my eyes and take a look at the Empire, as you say.”

That earned him a grimace from Zeb. As much as he wanted to argue for the man to join the rebellion, he had a point. He felt lucky enough that Alex wasn’t still poised to kill him, let alone throw down his blade and run to the rebellion. They made eye contact for a moment, and Alex started again

“You know, for a long, time, it felt justified. Fighting for the empire.” Zeb looked at him, transfixed “After Onderon became part of the Empire, my first mission was there. We were there to stabilize a troubled kingdom, to bring order, but our caravan ran into one of your rebel allies, Saw Guerra, and his lasat mercenary. It was an ambush from a hill, and before we even knew what had happened half my unit was dead. Our wagon had been flipped and I was trapped underneath. I watched him walk through the wreckage and finish off anyone still alive. He did it calmly, and with no mercy.” 

Zeb frowned as he looked at the man’s eyes staring into the fire, distant. He saw something profound in the remembrance, as if he’d hadn’t thought about the events in a long while. Zeb sighed and grabbed a stick protruding from the fire to poke around with. 

“Not all of the rebels are as fair as we are,” He said timidly, and looked from the fire to Alex beside him.

Alex continued, staring at the spot Zeb was poking in the flames “Something about it changed me, and I don’t think for the better. After that I never questioned a thing. I saw the rebellion as the other side of the same coin with the Empire. Things became so black and white.” 

They shared a look and Zeb felt a sense of admiration for the man he didn’t have before.

“I think,” Alex squinted for a moment and put a hand to his chin “I think I regret letting myself think that way for so long.”

Zeb looked at him solemnly and admiration swirled in his mind once more. Stripped of his armor and helmet, and wearing nothing but a cool grey cloth , the man beside him was more vulnerable than ever. He was sharing a personal realization with Zeb, and Zeb drank it up. He watched the fire dance in Alex’s eyes as the man stared at the crackling embers, deep in thought. The dim firelight illuminated his face and pristine facial hair, and Zeb found himself admiring more than just the words the man had spoken.

A thought dawned on him, and he scrambled to the pack beside him to find something to aid his excitement. He produced a small tied parchment and placed it on his lap. Alex leaned in, entranced by Zeb’s sudden movement, and watched as Zeb unrolled a small map that had several sprawled kingdoms on it. 

“Since you seem so excited to investigate your precious Empire, why don’t we meet up in a few weeks and see what you’ve found?” He smirked at Alex and started examining the map. 

“Zeb.” Alex objected. 

“What?” Zeb laughed and drew his finger over the parts of the map thoughtfully. “We can pick the perfect place. No one will know.” 

“I can't just up and leave whenever I feel like it. I don't just- I don’t” He sighed deeply. “What day were you thinking?” 

Zeb gave him a sly grin and looked upwards thoughtfully, biting his lip. He spied the moon up above and it gave him an idea. 

“What about on the full moon? That’s what? A week or so from now?” he asked inquisitively. 

“That,” Alex started slowly, thinking. “Just might work, actually” 

“Perfect. And what about here?” He pointed to the map excitedly. 

Alex side eyed him and smirked. “Really? If you want, I guess.” 

“Alright then that settles it! I guess now we just have to wait. Either an imperial patrol finds us, or my friends do.” He wiggled a brow at the knight beside him and stuffed the parchments in the pack before leaning against the log again.

Alex let out a small laugh. “You sure seem confident.” 

“Course I am,” Zeb retorted, while adjusting himself against the log. “My friends are the best. You’ll see. They’ll be here soon. Nothing left to do but wait.” He closed his eyes, with the dopey grin still spread on his face. 

“Right,” Alex chuckled besides him. “We’ll see.” and he settled into his own comfortable position leaned against the log. 

The cool autumn wind relaxing and soft crackle of the fire lulled them both to sleep. Some time during the night, the fire had burned out, and Alexander became chilled in his thin grey clothes. He subconsciously sought the only other source of warmth, and ended scooted up next to the snoring lasat by the time the morning broke. 

They were awoken to the sounds of voices calling through the forest, voices Zeb recognized. He was startled awake and Alex woke up with him, slowly rubbing his eyes. They both became aware of their proximity to one another and awkward slow scuffle away from one another ensued. Zeb didn't look upset, and seemed mildly amused by their more intimate juxtaposition. Alex was glad.

"Morning." Zeb yawned at the man beside him. 

Alex reined in his embarrassment as he became aware of the bustle and voices in the distance. 

"Sounds like your friends did find you," He observed.

"Told ya they would." Zeb grinned. His ears perked up at the voices off the way. He stretched and stood up before looking down at his companion. 

“Sure you don’t want to come with?” He offered a hand down to the man

There was a moment of hesitation as he was pulled to his feet, and Alex looked up at him and blinked slowly. “I think I’d better stay.” He bit his lip 

“I’ll see you on the full moon though?” Zeb shuffled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding the man’s stare

Alex nodded. “Indeed, you will.” 

“Alright.” Zeb brightened and slung his leather pack over his shoulder “Until next time.” He placed his right palm over his chest and bowed his head. Alex recognized immediately as a Lasani knight’s salute. He was deeply touched that Zeb would share such an important cultural act with him. He mimicked the gesture and looked up to Zeb, eyes misty.

Before he could say anything Zeb gave him a firm squeeze on the shoulder and a lopsided grin. He bounded off toward the source of the sound. Alex leaned back against the log and watched the reunion ensue. The young mage apprentice, Ezra bounded from his horse and up to Zeb, cheering

“Zeb! Zeb!” the young boy called out. 

The other followed and he heard Saw Sabine Wren follow closely behind, cheering, elated. Their Tan and white mutt, Chopper bounded out from the group of horses and ran circles around zeb, yipping excitedly. Alex watched from his hiding spot and smiled at the heartfelt reunion. A feeling of gratitude for Garazeb Orrelios bloomed in his chest, and he was happy the man had been reunited with his family. The gratitude was paired with a feeling of longing. It was slightly melancholy, but distant, and beneath the surface. Part of him wished he could share their excitement, to be part of their tight knit circle, but for the meantime, this would do. 

_ Besides, I’ll see him soon enough. _ He thought, and watched them disappear into the woods. 

  
  



End file.
